Dinky's Question
by DragongirlM
Summary: It was an innocent and perfectly justifiable inquiry, spoken in a genuinely curious tone, and I had no idea how to answer./ Written for Ivory Muse.


It was a bright, sunny afternoon when, all of a sudden, Dinky asked, "Mommy, what does retarded mean?"

I stiffened in the doorway. It was an innocent and perfectly justifiable inquiry, spoken in a genuinely curious tone, and I had no idea how to answer. I stayed where I was. "Where did you hear that word, sweetheart?" I asked in a light tone.

_She probably heard somepony say it in town today, or maybe an older pony mentioned it to her in passing. She's probably not asking for the reason I think she is…_

But her reply only confirmed my gut feeling. "Well...some colts at school yelled it at me when I was waiting for you to pick me up. They said…they said you were retarded. They said your eyes were weird. I think they were being mean, Mommy." All this was said in a serious and concerned tone.

My aforementioned eyes blurred, and I felt my heart sink down to my hooves. _Oh, no…_

Surely what happened to me when I was a filly would not, _could _not happen to my daughter. _Why, Celestia?_

I felt an unwelcome memory assault me, rising unbidden from the depths of my mind…

"_Hey, Ditz!"_

_I stiffened, wincing at the all too familiar voices. I was almost out of the schoolyard, almost free from any danger of their omnipresent torment. Every day as I waited for Mom, heaved a sigh, and kept going, eyes staring as straight ahead as possible. _Just ignore them…

"_Hey, Derpwad! I brought Thunder here to show him your freaky eyes. I told him it was a great show. C'mon, don't disappoint your audience!"_

"_Yeah," one of them snickered, "being a freak show's all you're good for, anyway!"  
"Maybe you can hire yourself to a circus! It's not like they'll want somepony who can't even see to fly straight to take care of the weather," cackled another._

_Gritting my teeth, I walked a little faster, but still they followed me. "Wait up, Derpwad!" I heard one shout at my retreating back, "we were just thinkin' about what your cutie mark will be! Prob'ly something stupid, like a bird flyin' in circles."_

"_Or a really stupid-looking clown face!"_

_I couldn't help it. I whirled around to face my assailants, shaking in fury. "What, like yours?" I snapped at them._

_But my comeback, clever as it was, was drowned out by their laughter. Too late I realized that turning around had given them a clear and unhindered view of my eyes, which, in my anger and distress, were turned in completely opposite directions. "Ha! You were right! Look how stupid she looks!" crowed a dark Pegasus I didn't recognize, rolling on the ground in cruel mirth. _

"_I know, right? She's such a retard…"_

A soft little voice snapped me out of my reverie. "Mommy? Are you okay?" I looked down to see Dinky beside me, beautiful golden eyes filled with concern.

I looked down at her. "I…I'm sorry, sweetie. What did you want to know?"

Even when repeated, her question still hurt. I exhaled softly. "Well…" I began slowly, trying to find a way to explain the word and its crueler use to a foal, "somepony who is retarded thinks differently from most ponies. That pony…maybe thinks a little slower than you do. Maybe they can't do some of the things you can do or can't learn at the same pace as you. Other ponies might think they are stupid." I crossed the room and sat down beside her, biting my lower lip. "Sometimes…ponies call somepony who is different retarded. Maybe that pony is perfectly smart and nice, but can't read very quickly or speaks differently…" I trailed off and looked away to hide my tears, "…or has strange-looking eyes."

"Mommy…are you crying?" Dinky sounded very distressed, gently pawing my foreleg, "Did I say something wrong?"

I was crying, and it hurt to think she thought it was her fault. I suddenly turned and enfolded her in a big bear hug, pulling her close to me and burying my nose in her mane. Her diminutive horn poked my muzzle gently as the tears slid down and into her fur. "You didn't say anything wrong, Dinky, honey. Those colts were being very, very mean, and not just to you and me. Just know that I am not retarded, and neither are you, and anything those colts say to you is probably not nice. They want to hurt you and me because it makes them feel good about themselves. Just ignore anything they say to you, because you are very smart and sweet and wonderful and you don't deserve it…"

"Okay, Mommy, I will! But please stop crying."

Sniffing, I pulled away and gave her a watery smile. "Alright, Dinky. Thank you for asking. I love you."

"Love you too, Mommy."

_Dragon here. This was just a plot bunny spawned by a deal made between my bestie, Ivory Muse, and me: if she wrote a fluffy fic, I would write an angsty one. She wrote a really, really adorable fluffy fic about her favorite pairing, so I need to hold up my end of the bargain. I sure hope this qualifies as angst. Not that I don't know what it is, it's just that I find it strange to write. : p_

_I love the idea of Derpy as a single mom…it creates so many adorable fics! Anyway, I took some slightly twisted enjoyment out of writing this, and I hope you liked it as well. Reviews welcomed and fervently hoped for. : )_


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